HEALING IN THE ROCKIES –
August 17, 2021 – Hi Kristabell, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today? I was born and raised in what used to be the small mountain town of Conifer here in Colorado. I moved around the USA a bit and I also lived in Zambia, Africa. The background that has really influenced my life today, was that I became a drug addict in my early teens along with experiencing mental health problems, which led to dropping out of school, homelessness, being sex trafficked, and experiencing violence, dysfunction, and abusive relationships. I also, lost amazing opportunities that I had worked so hard to obtain due to my addiction. While my background was not a love story, it has given me a passion for the foundation of Chrysalis, turning the experiences that were extremely tragic and painful into an expression of something that can help others who are or have been affected by substance use disorder and mental health. I also have a background in micro and molecular biology and have a passion for the science fields. … I love the diversity of experiences in Colorado, we would go hiking (possibly the stairs at Red Rocks on a Sunday morning when the fitness people are doing insane workouts on the stairs and the energy is so positive), then the restaurants! Mister Oso in Rino is one, Machete for street tacos, a tiny Mexican restaurant that I can’t even remember the name of in Five Points. The First Friday art walks would be another stop on our journey, with the murals in Rino. And of course some of our coffee shops like Improper City to swing in their chairs.
